Zooming In ~ This is Where it Ends 12/20/2019

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vernonbarford/44201658030

     Marieke Nijkamp’s debut YA novel, This is Where it Ends, follows 4 students through a traumatic 54 minutes of their lives in which a shooter locks them in the assembly hall. Autumn, the younger sister of the shooter, Tyler, her girlfriend Sylvia, Sylvia’s twin brother Tomás, and Tyler’s ex-girlfriend, Claire all narrate the story, each with short passages at similar times in different situations. Tyler, who has been acting strange and was gone from school for a while, has decided to reappear and finish out his old battles for good. While everyone at Opportunity High is in the auditorium for the beginning of school assembly, everything takes a turn for the worse.

     Most novels span many days sometimes even weeks, months, or years, so this book differs when the entire 300 page novel zooms in on 54 horrific minutes. Each chapter or passage of the book focuses on one or two minutes of the incident, describing in painful detail every movement, action and thought. I think that this serves a certain purpose in how the story is presented, as by zooming in so much, the significance of everything is weighted a lot more. This style can also make readers realize how quickly things can go wrong, how in just a second everything can flip. The book starts out with a perfectly normal day in a school assembly, with everyone expecting to go home in the afternoon, but it only takes a minute for Tyler to show up with a gun.

This book may be a bit frightening for some readers, as it is a heavy topic that can be upsetting, but in some ways, it should be frightening. The author is trying to make a point, by writing about this topic in such a troubling way, as shootings have been so common that they have almost becoming normalized, and we need to be reminded just how horrible they can be and that it can happen to anyone. Although this book is certainly an important read and can be very beneficial especially with discussion afterwards, that does not mean it is immediately a great book. I think that a lot of things are good about this novel, but it does have some short comings. To me, it feels a bit as though the author is rushing to make a point, without actually creating strong writing and characters. One thing that I found slightly annoying was the shear amount of secondary characters. There were many characters that were not main ones, but many seemed thrown in for no reason, and they distracted from the plot. I personally would have preferred fewer but more developed characters than a ton of shallow ones.

     This is Where it Ends is an important young adult novel that deals with school shootings specifically in high schools. While not the most beautifully written book, it is worth reading and can provoke important and meaningful discussions among people. I would recommend this to anyone who feels comfortable reading it. It is probable best for older children and adults as it may be to upsetting to young kids, but its audience is not just limited to teens. Even if the topic is a little challenging, I would still recommend it as it can be good to be challenged as long as you don’t hurt yourself.

A Book about Gogol, but not the Russian Writer

I have recently started reading “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, and although I have not finished it yet, I have enjoyed it so far. In the first 60-odd pages the book talks about the birth of Gogol, the main character, and his sister Sonia. The book starts with the arranging of the marriage of Ashima and Ashoke, Gogol and Sonia’s parents. Their marriage starts in a difficult way because it is an arranged marriage and neither of them know each other. But Ahima goes with Ashoke to America anyway and they get to know each other. Ashima, at first, cannot bear the United States because she has lived her whole life in Calcutta. Eventually, they get to know each other and Ashima gets used to the United States and they decide to have a child. That’s where the story of Gogol begins.
One of the main parts of this story is immigration. This is also a controversial topic in the upcoming presidential election and is mentioned constantly in the debates. The book talks about the struggles Ashima goes through adjusting to America. The book highlights struggles with immigration by mentioning how it is difficult for the Ganguli’s (Gogol’s family) to find friends that are not Bengali. They do find many Bengali friends that act as honorary aunts and uncles when they have special events for their newborn children.

One thing that really stands out to both Ashima and Ashoke that is completely different from Calcutta is that in Calcutta they have both a good name and a family name. The good name is what everyone calls them and the family name is what family calls them. However, in the United States there is no such thing. Their family also has a tradition of having Ashima’s grandmother choose the name of a newborn child and so when Gogol is born they wait on a letter from Ashima’s grandmother, which gets lost in the mail. When they try leaving the hospital after Gogol is born, they have to come up with a name to put on the birth certificate, so they choose Gogol. At first, they wanted Gogol to be his family name but when he goes to kindergarten, he does not respond to anything else, so that is what everyone calls him.

Overall, this is a great book and a very well written one at that. I have enjoyed it so far and will probably read the rest of it. I would recommend this book but there are some sad moments and if you are someone that has lost a loved one this book may trigger some of that trauma. There is also a movie based on this book and I do plan to watch that movie sometime in the near future.

The House on Mango Street is a Really Good Book

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a novel that tells the story of a girl’s year in a run down home with her family from her perspective. Esperanza, the protagonist, and her family move to a poor, rundown area in Chicago, where they meet new neighbors and build new relationships whilst dealing with the unfortunate aspects of their new surroundings. The format of the novel is slightly unorthodox. The chapters do not follow a regular paragraph form, and instead have a stanza like structure similar to that of poetry. I found this especially interesting because as the novel progressed, I was able to see Esperanza narrate with increasing articulation and see her develop although the book spans over the course of one year. Esperanza experiences all sorts of things, good and bad, and they all pertain to the society we live in today.

Esperanza is relatively young when the novel begins, I would estimate around twelve. The implications of the bad situations taking place in her surroundings are vague, and I noticed she gives much greater detail in areas where something childish was occurring rather than something serious, like her neighbor’s son getting arrested for stealing a car. However, Esperanza describes playing a game of jump rope with her friends in much greater detail. I believe this relates to the comprehensive theme of facing reality because it displays how a child Esperanza’s age is unable to process and describe the negative aspects of their surroundings, but are able to go into much more depth when the topic is something childish. Esperanza was forced to face the harsh reality of her environment at a young age, causing her to try and hold on to the innocent aspects of her youth.

There are ample examples of misogyny throughout the book. Esperanza is witness to her female neighbors or friends being locked inside their homes or getting married young only to encounter domestic abuse, and she refuses to end up like that. I think it was very important for misogyny to be incorporated into the book because it gives a good message to readers about how it may negatively affect one’s life.

We will be reading The House on Mango Street in class very soon, and I think it’s great that we are. It is a very well written, unique, and thought provoking book that is open to any interpretations from the narration of Esperanza. I would highly recommend it to those looking for a quick, yet meaningful read that enforces a connection from readers to characters.

-Zoya

Winter... or Snow White?

   
                                                              Winter... or Snow White?

     Once upon a time, there was a fair princess of a royal kingdom. Everyone in the city adored her, everyone besides her wicked stepmother. Her stepmother made every attempt to wipe her own daughter out of existence so that she can be the most beautiful person alive. By now, most people reading this would be thinking about the iconic fairy tale, Snow White. However, I just gave a rudimentary summary of Marissa Meyer's book, 'Winter'. This book is the finale of the Lunar Chronicles, a fantasy science fiction series where each book bases itself off of an iconic fairy tale such as, 'Cinderalla' (Cinder), 'Scarlet' (Red Riding Hood), 'Cress' (Rapunzel), and finally 'Winter' (Snow White). In 'Winter', the book is separated into sections with a few small sentences I'll refer to as 'fairy-tale relations'. These fairy-tail relations link the book 'Winter' to its fantastical counterpart Snow White. I'll discuss in this essay most of the fairy-tall relations mentioned in this book as well as how these sentences are implemented in a more science-fiction way.
      On page 182, the first major fairy-tail relation was written, 'The huntsman took pity on her and said, "Run away into the woods, child, and never come back." For this particular fairy-tail relation, the author puts a special twist on the story by making the 'hunter' a love interest to the main character, Winter. However, there are also many other differences between the book and this particular 'fairy-tail relations' from the original book. Firstly, the 'Hunter' already had disloyal ideas in his head. In fact, when the evil-step mother (named Queen Levana) told the 'Hunter' to assassinate Winter, he was already forming an intricate plan in his head. This is much different than the original fairy tale as the 'Hunter' was supposed to have never met Winter/Snow White before. Therefore, the readers would not have known that the 'Hunter' would let the princess escape. Secondly, the escape sequence was much more tense in the sci-fi adaption than the original fairy tale. This is because the surveillance technology that existed in 'Winter' was much more advanced than the fairy tale and the 'Hunter' had to kill someone else to fake Winter's murder.
     Another interesting 'fairy-tale relation' was presented on page 517. This fairy-tale relation portrays the event of the evil-stepmother poisoning Winter, by saying " 'Are you afraid of poison?' asked the old woman. 'Here, I will cut the apple in two. You eat the red half, and I shall ear the white.'" What's interesting is that this fairy-tale relation added a unique element that was not in the original fairy-tale. In 'Winter', the princess was lured into the woods by an illusion of a 'handsome young man' (who happened to be Winter's childhood friend). Although, by the time she caught up, the man was replaced by an old and 'innocent' women. Besides that particular part of the story, there was no major difference in how Winter was poisoned and how Snow White was poisoned. This part of the story was more similar to the original fairy tale than any other 'fairy-tale relation'.
     Overall, the 'fairy-tale relations' provided a unique element to the story which intrigued me a great amount. Even though some readers might think that 'fairy-tale relations' would spoil the book, it instead gave the readers a false sense of understanding as the book would sometimes completely takes the readers off guard when there is a difference between 'Winter' and 'Snow White'. The 'fairy-tale relations' also surprises the readers when they first realize the difference between the two stories, such as when the 'Hunter' was revealed to be a love interest and the 'evil-stepmother' disguised herself using her powers and not magic like in 'Snow-White'. In conclusion, 'Snow-White' and 'Winter' share many similarities and differences, but this does not make 'Winter' any less of a unique and unpredictable story that would excite all kinds of sci-fi and fantasy readers alike.

2+2=5

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be one of the only people that knows that there is something wrong in your society? Have you ever felt that way? Well over the past few weeks I have been reading the book 1984 by George Orwell and you may be able to relate to this book. 1984 is about a man named Winston Smith who is living in approximately the year 1984. The society in which he lives is ruled by a dictator named Big Brother who has a type of FBI called the thought police that have screens, called telescreens, that watch you 24/7.

Throughout the first few chapters Winston begins to realize how Big Brother and the Party (that’s what they call the people that work around Big Brother) distort facts from the past to manipulate the people of Oceania, but Winston knows these made up facts are not true. He vaguely remembers occurrences from his past that contradict certain aspects of Big Brother’s message.

1984 was actually, believe it or not, not written in 1984. It was originally published in 1949. Therefore the world that Winston lives in is only 35 years after the book was originally published. So if we think about it in George Orwell’s point of view, the future he is inventing is not too far away, so we can imagine it, but far away enough so we can make things up like telescreens that watch people 24/7. 

The term Big Brother is still used to this day. It is often used to mean someone who is always watching you. This shows the significance of 1984 and how ideas from the book have stuck in our culture even though the majority of people do not know where they originate.

In the past, I have also read Animal Farm, another book by George Orwell, which is similar to 1984 because they are both revolutionary and dystopian novels. Animal Farm depicts a society of animals that take over the farm they live on from a human who uses them for his own personal gain and treats them poorly. This compares to 1984 because they both involve a dictator and a rebellion. In the case of Animal Farm the rebellion is a physical rebellion while in 1984 the rebellion is mental and all in Winston’s head.
This mental rebellion does not end well. Winston lives in a society that is manipulated by the Party and Big Brother and no one realizes it except for him. Eventually he gets captured by the thought police and submits to the brainwashing power of the Party. He starts the interrogation by insisting that 2+2=4, but in the end he is convinced by the thought police that 2+2=5.

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lipincott

Five Feet Apart

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lipincott is a novel about a forbidden romance between two teenagers with terminal illnesses. Seventeen year old Stella Grant suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, and seventeen year old Will Newman has Cystic Fibrosis, along with Burkholderia Cepacia. Stella has only ever known the life of someone with a terminal illness, prioritizing her survival each day by formulating schedules and to-do lists. Will, however, finds joy in spontaneity, even though his risk of lung failure is much higher than the average cystic fibrosis patient. When Will and Stella fall in love, they must learn how to compromise staying alive with being in love. One romantic exchange between them, such as a kiss, or even a hug, can result in their deaths. The two must learn to navigate their romance at a safe distance of five feet apart.

Five Feet Apart is a #1 New York Times bestselling novel, and it is easy to see why. I really enjoyed the first person narratives the book presents from the perspectives of both Will and Stella. Readers are able to see both sides of their love story, which makes the book all the more charming, and heartbreaking. I liked how the book explores topics teenagers today would be able to relate to, such as fixing broken friendships, trying to start a relationship plus the awkwardness encountered, and relationships with family members, such as parents.

What I thought to be the predominant theme in Five Feet Apart, was rebellion. Will and Stella find themselves between constant battles with the desire to rebel against the guidelines and restrictions that keep them alive, while also wanting to avoid the risk of dying. Will and Stella are conflicted between living a life in which they make decisions for themselves and live meaningfully, versus continuing to abide by the placed restrictions ensued by their illnesses. Rebellion is an important theme in this book because it provides good examples for readers of when rebellion is justified, against rebellious recklessness, with added consequences manifested by dramatic and heartbreaking scenes in the book.

Five Feet Apart harbors the ability to make one feel single, laugh, and cry all within a single chapter. It is a wonderful novel that may be relatable to teenagers, and teaches readers important life lessons that make the heartbreaking moments within the book worthwhile. I would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in romance, comedy, or modern day nonfiction writing pertaining to teenagers.

-Zoya A.

When Multiple Stories Cross - Anya English Blog 10/28/19

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35134091-all-we-can-do-is-wait

     I recently began reading All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson. This is a young adult novel about several teens who all had friends or family on the Tobin bridge when it suddenly collapsed and sent the people on the bridge crashing into the river. The book is written from the perspective of four different people. The first are siblings Jason and Alexa, who are waiting to hear about their parents. They have a struggling relationship, and both are hiding things from each other. The next person is Skyler who is desperate for news on her sister Kate. Kate has always kept Skyler going, and taken care of her when she was going through the hardest moments, so she is terrified at the thought of not having her in her life. The last person is Scott who’s girlfriend Aimee was on the bridge when disaster struck. They were having many conflicts with each other, but Scott would do anything just to see her one more time. All these teens are all waiting at the hospital for news on their loved ones, all alone and scared.

     One of the most interesting aspects of the structure of All We Can Do Is Wait is that it is written from different perspectives with different narrators. We as readers get to see the experiences of many different individuals. We have more information as a whole than any of the characters on their own, because we get all the stories, and this makes for a very interesting read.

     One of the ways in which this structure of multiple narrators proves to be the most interesting is with Alexa and Jason’s chapters. Because they are siblings and their stories are so intertwined, it is particularly fascinating to hear their perspectives, especially on their own relationship with each other. Alexa has gone to a private girls’ school and maintained perfect scores for years, and Jason only views her as a perfect stuck up brat. When their parents suggest going to a beach house for the summer, he thinks, “Even before she did it, Jason knew that Alexa was going to take their parents side. […] Jason knew his sister would say and do the right thing, the good thing, the responsible thing,” (Lawson 10). This quote really shows Jason’s disdainful view of Alexa and her perfectness. Meanwhile, Alexa is unhappy with her life of blindly following her parents command. When she talks to a friend about not going to college, she says, “I mean, at least not right away. I want some time to, like, figure life out before I just go off and do the next thing that’s like, expected of me,” (46). While everyone else around her thinks she is a goody two shoes, she is contemplating taking a gap year, something her parents would dislike. She even has had frequent meetings about improving her slipping grades. As readers, we get to see this from both perspectives which makes it interesting. We can learn how our judgments may not actually be as true as we think they are.

     I would probably recommend this book to people. I think that the idea is good, and the structure is really interesting. By reading it we can see how people judge each other, the harm that this has, and maybe go into our lives with a little less judgement. However, I think the actual story is a bit boring and slow going, so it may not interest many people. If someone were to read it, I think it would be best for middle to early high school students.

Cinderella - reincarnated

     
     Cinder, a story about a poorly treated step sister that must travel to the 'Royal Ball'  using an unconventional vehicle and dance with the Prince. Sounds familiar? It should. Cinder is a story that strongly models the original fantasy Cinderella, with a few major twists. First of all, Cinder takes place in the future where cyborgs are viewed as inferior beings, and the technology that exists then far overwhelm our current technology. The book Cinder tells a story about how a young girl named Cinder who must overcome her shortcomings (her being a cyborg and a second-class citizen), and save the world from the ruthless Lunars, an evil alien-like species raised the moon, while also being blamed for infecting her stepsister with a fatal illness. There are many similarities that Cinder has with the original fairytale Cinderella, but that does not make Cinder any of a less unique and exciting story.
     The most major similarity that the two stories have, relate to the main character being an unwanted and badly treated step sister in their own house. In Cinder, the main character stepmother, Adri, was forced to adopt Cinder after Cinder's parents died in a car crash. However, Cinder was so badly injured that she had to go through surgery to replace her faulty organs with cyborg parts. In this process, she lost all the memories that she had before the age of 11. Due to her being half cyborg, Cinder is often mistreated and disrespected by not just her fellow citizens, but also from her own stepfamily. Similarly, the original Cinderella was often overlooked and treated as a house servant. Both of these characters had humble origins with pathetic lives that were destined to amount to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
     However, as most people know, Cinderella was not just a normal house servant. In fact, Cinderella had a magical fairy godmother who granted her the power to go to the royal ball. Similarly, Cinder met an intelligent individual named Dr. Erland, who helped Cinder in every step through the novel. However, Dr.Erland does not help Cinder to the extent that the fairy godmother helps Cinderella. For instance, Dr. Erland did not provide Cinder a way to get to the royal ball, in fact, Dr. Erland did not even know Cinder wanted to go to the ball. Instead of using a 'magical pumpkin chariot', Cinder had found and repaired an antique can with the smell of 'old garbage and mildew' with her exceptional mechanic skills. I believe that the author of Cinder attempts to make Cinder a more independent character than Cinderella, to conform with today's social standards of women being able to step up for themselves.
     Overall, Cinder and Cinderalla are related and unique at the same time. Even though Cinder is based on Cinderella, the book still has a tense and exciting theme that all fairytales and sci-fi lovers should definitely read. I would give this book an 8 out of 10 for having a unique plot that strongly resembles a predictable fairytale.

The Mysterious Disappearance on the London Eye

The book The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd is a book about the mystery of a missing cousin. The characters include a kid named Ted, who is autistic, his mom, and his sister, Kat. They are hosting his mom’s sister, Gloria, and their cousin, Salim, for a few days. During their stay, they go to the London Eye, a type of Ferris Wheel in the center of London. Salim goes up and doesn’t come down. Or as Ted said in the introductory chapter “Somewhere, somehow, in the thirty minutes of riding the Eye, in his sealed capsule, he had vanished off the face of the earth.” 

It all starts when Ted’s mom goes with Gloria to get some coffee while Ted, Kat, and Salim go to the London Eye. They are standing in an extremely long queue when a man offers them his ticket. He says he doesn't want it anymore and he’ll give it to them for free. Of course they accept this offer to save money and skip the queue. Because it is only one ticket, Salim goes up by himself. Ted and Kat follow his pod very closely with their eyes and calculate the time he will be down. When his pod reaches the ground they cannot find him. This book is the story of how Ted and Kat find Salim. In the first chapter, Ted describes the book this way: “This is how having a funny brain that runs on a different operating system from other people’s helped me to figure out what had happened.”
I enjoy books in the mystery genre and this book is in that genre but this book has something special about it. In this book Ted and Kat are going to try to find out what happened to Salim by following clues and theories they have about what happened to him. It is possible to follow the clues and attempt to solve the mystery if that is something the reader wants to do. This book is different from your typical murder mystery because the events in the story are more possible to happen in real life than a murder mystery. By this I mean the chances of somebody getting lost are far higher than somebody getting murdered.

This book is also unique because it is told in the first person by a kid whose brain works differently from others’. If you have seen or read the book/play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time then you can see the resemblance between that book and this one. They are both mysteries told in the first person and both involve a young autistic sleuth. Another interesting fact about the characters in the role of the detectives is that there are no grown-ups doing the sleuthing. It is only Ted and Kat. 

If you are someone who enjoys mysteries that are very real, this is the book for you. If you are someone who enjoys mysteries in the first person then this is the book for you. If you want an insight on what it is like to be autistic then I recommend you read this book. Once you have read and enjoyed this book, do not fret. There is a sequel!

What Would You Do if You Had One Wish? - Anya English Blog 10/11/2019

https://www.sourcebooks.com/sedoti-author-visity.html

What Would You Do if You Had One Wish?

          As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti is a young adult novel set in Madison, a small town in the Mojave desert. The story follows 17 almost 18 year-old Eldon, who lives in Madison with his parents. Madison from the outside seems just seems like any other small town, but despite the outside appearance, it has a secret. In Madison, every person gets to have one wish on their 18^th birthday, which is guaranteed to come true. The citizens may wish for anything that they choose, within some constraints. For example, they cannot wish for more wishes, wish to bring back the dead, or wish for anything that would impact the outside world. Most of the residents have their wishes planned out for years before their wish day, but Eldon has no idea what he should do.

     Eldon is having so much trouble in part because in every wish he has ever observed, something terrible always goes wrong, and there are always consequences. He wants to make the perfect wish, but not one that will turn his life upside down. He sees his own mother wish for her husband to love her and only her for the rest of eternity but suffers the consequences when she loses her love for him, but he continues to worship her. He sees Barnabas Fairly plan to wish to never be drafted in the war but accidentally tells the Mayor that he wishes to be alone for his wish. He sees how Barnabas is eventually drafted in the war but lives his life in never ending loneliness. He sees how Fletcher Hale hits Ebba, Eldon’s sister, and causes her to live in a half-dead state, and then wishes to have a perfect transcript for Harvard. Eldon is mad that Fletcher didn’t wish his sister back when he already would have had a perfect transcript. Eldon doesn’t want to end up like everyone else in the town, so he decides to do a “wish history” to see what kinds of wishes were good, and what was bad. However, throughout the whole process, he finds that almost no one is happy with their wish. Eventually, Eldon decides on his perfect wish, and it changes everything.

     I think this book is very interesting and presents a really complicated idea. I went into the book thinking that it would be cheesy and stupid, but I actually really enjoyed it. I think many people believe that if they could have one wish it would be amazing and wonderful, yet this book provides a different perspective. All You Can do is Wait shows the dark side of wishing and how it hurt almost every person that does this. I think if I lived in Madison, I would have a very hard time coming up with a wish because I am not very good at decisions. Also, at age 18 many people don’t know what they want for their life, and once they pick a wish, there is no going back.

     I would recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary YA novels, and an interesting look at how big decisions can affect people’s lives. This book probably appeals to teens the most, but some adults would also likely enjoy it despite the fact that the intended audience is a little younger.

*I could not include quotes because I had to return the book to the library before I wrote this*

Angels and Demons

                                                                   Angels and Demons 

     Robert Langdon, a Harvard Professor in Symbology, and was first introduced in the book Angels and Demons as the main narrator. Maximilian Kohler was a famed scientist and director of CERN (an organization dedicated to science). Vittoria Vetra, another brilliant scientist who was working on a revolutionary concept with his father, anti-matter. That is, until Vittoria's father was killed and branded with the Illuminati symbol and a devastating amount of anti-matter was stolen. Throughout the book Angels and Demons, many characters were introduced and their origin was thoroughly explained in unconventional ways. For example, Maximilian Kohler was first introduced within the first 100 pages of the book as a cold and unnerving person. For the next 400 pages, he was barely mentioned at all. However, within the last 100 pages, he was revealed to be a much more important character than previously thought, which surprised all readers alike. Before I continue, the readers of this essay should know that Angels and Demons tells a story about how Robert Langdon and his partner Vittoria attempt to decipher clues laid out by the now revived satanic cult called the Illuminati. Simultaneously, a hidden bomb is slowly ticking down in one of the holiest places on the planet, Vatican city.
     The characters in Angels and Demons stood out because of the author's refined use of 'show and don't tell' in combination with 'imagery'. For instance, within the first chapter of the book, it was obvious that Robert Langdon was an expert on symbology. Instead of directly stating that Robert was a professor of religious symbology, the author stated the fact in more of an indirect way. "A knowing groan escaped Langdon's lips. This has happened before. One of the perils of writing books about religious symbology was the calls from religious zealots who wanted him to confirm the latest sign from God." Another more discrete approach the author used to show that Langdon was truly knowledgable about the subject of symbology, is by showing Langdon's thought process when he sees obscure symbols throughout the book. For instance, when Langdon had seen a fax of the 'Illuminati' symbol branded on a dead body, the author wrote ' It can't be ..., In slow motion, afraid of what he was about to witness, Langdon rotated the fax 180 degrees. He looked at the word upside down. Instantly the breath went out of him... Barely able to believe his eyes, he rotated the fax again, reading the brand right-side up and then upside down.' One of the first reactions of a reader after reading this paragraph is the sudden inclination to also observe the symbol upside down, and unsurprisingly Langdon's knowledge of the symbol proved to be right.
     One interesting concept of Angels and Demons was that the author had introduced many characters throughout the book, but had never fully delved into the characters' background until the end of the story to give more room for sudden plot twists. To illustrate, one of the first characters that had been introduced at the beginning of the book was Maximilian Kohler.  The readers learned that Kohler was the leader of a scientific organization that discovered new 'miracles' every day, but Kohler himself was a 1-dimensional character. He had basic characteristic traits, a crippled man who was always serious and gave an overall tense mood. Beyond that, not much was known about him. However, within the last 100 pages, Kohler's whole origin story was described in a way to make him a much more favorable character. It also took the readers off guard as no one would have expected Kohler's importance in the story.
     Overall, the author uses many writing techniques to develop characters intriguingly. As a disclaimer, the literature devices explained in the paragraphs above are just a small fraction of the multitude of devices used throughout the book.  Angels and Demons is an amazing book due to the tense situation, the characters' realisticness, and ultimately, the author's uses of literary devices provided that extra 'cherry on top'.